MT5 grey label providers: how to choose one and what to ask before

What does an MT5 grey label provider actually sell?

An MT5 grey label provider sells you space on its MetaTrader 5 server plus the branded layer around it. In the definition we use throughout this site: an MT5 grey label is a brokerage set up inside another company’s licensed MetaTrader 5 server: you get your own client groups and your brand on the WebTrader, mobile apps, CRM and client portal, while the MT5 server licence stays with the provider.

That definition hides a lot of variation. Some providers are brokers that hold an MT5 licence and rent out groups on the side. Some are technology firms with their own licence and no brokerage business. Some resell capacity on a third party’s server and own nothing but the sales relationship. All three call themselves grey label providers, and the difference decides how stable your business is.

The term itself is loose. Atomiq Consulting described the grey label in January 2017 as something that “toes the line between an IB (Introducing Broker) relationship and an MT4/MT5 white label”, and other vendors use the word for anything from an unbranded Manager account to a fully branded stack. So start every provider conversation by agreeing what, exactly, is being sold. Our MT5 grey label guide covers the model itself; this page is about picking who to buy it from.

Where does a grey label provider sit in the MetaQuotes licence chain?

A grey label provider sits one or two steps below MetaQuotes: MetaQuotes licenses an MT5 server to a company, and that company — or someone it contracts with — hosts your client groups. MetaQuotes does not sell a grey label. Its broker pages describe three server licence types, Entry, Standard and Enterprise, sized by real-account capacity (1,000, 25,000 and 200,000 real accounts according to the purchase page), and the word “grey” does not appear on them.

MetaQuotes also says it does not run brokers’ servers for them. That matters for you because it means the company holding the licence is the one operating the server, and your relationship with MetaQuotes is only ever through that company. If its agreement ends, is suspended or does not allow what you are doing, your groups go with it.

Rules about sub-labels have also moved. Atomiq Consulting, a vendor, wrote in October 2022 that “there is no longer the ability to operate as a sub-label or ‘underneath’ an existing broker / white label vendor”. We have not seen MetaQuotes publish that rule, and grey label arrangements clearly still exist, but it is a good reason to ask any provider what its own MetaQuotes agreement says about third-party brands on its server. FXUP is not affiliated with MetaQuotes, and neither, as a rule, is any grey label provider; treat a claim of “official MetaQuotes partner” as something to verify.

MetaQuotes does not publish licence prices either. What we can say from the applications we handle as consultants is that MetaQuotes charges a monthly fee that depends on the tier, and that for the Entry tier it asks for three months to be paid upfront. That cost sits with the licence holder, and part of it is reflected in what any grey label provider charges you.

How do you choose an MT5 grey label provider?

Choose on licence security, control and exit terms first, and on price and features second. A low-priced provider with an unstable licence, no data export and a long lock-in is the most expensive option you can sign. The table below is the comparison template we suggest: fill one column per provider, and treat any blank cell as an answer.

What questions should you ask a grey label provider before signing?

Ask questions that need a document or a name as the answer, not a yes. A provider that answers all of these in writing within a few days is usually one you can work with; one that stays vague on the first three is telling you something.

• Which legal entity holds the MetaTrader 5 server licence my groups will sit on, and which licence tier is it?
• Does that entity’s agreement with MetaQuotes allow third-party brands on the server, and does it allow my type of business?
• What server name will my clients see if they log in through a standard MT5 terminal?
• Exactly which Manager rights will my team have, and who can change my groups’ settings?
• Whose name appears on the client agreement, and who receives and holds client deposits?
• Which liquidity is used for my groups, can I connect my own provider, and who is the counterparty to client trades?
• Can I export my clients’ MT5 logins, balances and full trade history at any time, in what format, and at what cost?
• What happens to my clients if your licence is suspended or you close, and how much notice will I get?
• Under whose developer accounts are the iOS and Android apps published, and who owns the source and store listings?
• What is the minimum term, how much notice ends the contract, and can fees change after the first term?
• Which costs are not in your quote — payments, KYC checks, app publishing, extra features?
• Can I see the WebTrader and apps running on a demo account before I sign?

What are the red flags with grey label providers?

The clearest red flag is a provider that will not name the MT5 licence holder. Everything else on this list is a warning; that one is usually a reason to walk away, because without it you cannot check anything else.

• No named licence holder, or a holder that changes between the proposal and the contract.
• Claims to be an “official” MetaQuotes partner or to sell MetaQuotes grey labels. MetaQuotes does not sell grey labels.
• Promises that you do not need any financial licence. Whether you need one depends on your jurisdiction, your clients’ locations and your activity — it is not the provider’s call.
• Offers of new MT4 grey labels presented as freely available. MetaQuotes states that MT4 licences are no longer available for purchase; see our MT4 grey label page.
• No data export clause, or export only “at the provider’s discretion”.
• Apps published only under the provider’s own developer account, with no route to move them to yours.
• Revenue share defined vaguely as a percentage of “revenue” with no reference to spreads, commissions or a report.
• A website or company that cannot be traced: no registration number, no physical address, recently created domain.
• Pressure to sign quickly because “capacity is running out”.

What happened to grey label prop firms in February 2024?

In February 2024 several prop trading firms lost MT5 access overnight because the brokers whose servers they used withdrew the service. Finance Magnates reported on 14 February 2024 that Funding Pips stopped services after its brokerage partner, Blackbull Markets, terminated them; a Blackbull representative was quoted as saying the broker was “unfortunately in breach of our grey label licence ability to offer this for prop firms”. Finance Magnates contacted MetaQuotes and received no response by press time.

The lesson for anyone choosing a provider is not about one firm. It is that a grey label is only as permanent as the licence holder’s agreement with MetaQuotes, and that agreements can restrict what kinds of business may run on a server. If you are a prop firm, get written confirmation that your use is permitted before you sign, and read our prop trading technology page and the prop trading firm solution for the alternatives.

What should you check about liquidity and execution on a grey label?

Check who prices your symbols, who is the counterparty to your clients’ trades and whether you can bring your own liquidity provider. On a shared server the default is often the provider’s own liquidity and execution, which is convenient but means the provider may profit from your clients’ trading in more than one way.

Ask for the symbol list with typical spreads, the execution model for your groups (A-book, B-book or hybrid), and the bridge or gateway in use. If you plan to connect your own liquidity, ask whether the provider allows it on a grey label at all and what it costs. Our guides to A-book, B-book and hybrid execution and liquidity provider integration explain the trade-offs.

How do you compare grey label provider quotes line by line?

Compare quotes by scope, not by the total. Two providers can quote very differently for what looks like the same grey label because one includes apps, CRM and liquidity connection and the other prices each of them separately, or because one charges a fixed monthly amount and the other takes a share of trading revenue. Rewrite every quote into the same lines before you decide.

The CRM line deserves its own question. Some providers insist on their own back office; others let you bring one. FXUP has its own broker CRM and also works with partner CRMs, and we propose whichever fits the client, so ask every provider whether the CRM is fixed or a choice, and what moving CRM data out would involve.

• One-off setup: server groups, branding, WebTrader and app builds, app store publishing work, CRM configuration.
• Recurring charges: monthly platform fee, per-account or per-volume charges, CRM licence, hosting and support.
• Revenue terms: what any revenue share is calculated on, which deductions come first, and which report is the basis.
• Third-party costs: payment gateways, KYC checks per client, liquidity provider and bridge charges.
• Contract mechanics: minimum term, notice, how charges may change after the first term, and any exit or export fee.
• What is not quoted: ask the provider to list in writing everything it expects you to pay for separately.

Whose name should be on the grey label mobile apps?

Yours, in most cases. Apple’s App Review Guidelines (3.2.1(viii)) say that apps used for financial trading “should be submitted by the financial institution performing such services and must have necessary licensing and permissions in the locations where you make them available”. Google Play asks any app with financial features to complete a financial features declaration in Play Console.

In practice that means the apps should be published from your company’s own Apple and Google developer accounts, with the provider building and maintaining them. A provider that publishes everything under its own account controls your store presence and your reviews, and you start from zero if you leave. Our mobile trading app page and app store approval guide go into the detail.

How do you run a grey label provider selection, step by step?

Run it like any supplier selection: short-list, ask the same questions of everyone, test the product, then negotiate the contract. Done properly it takes a few weeks of part-time work, which is small next to the cost of moving providers later.

1. Write down your requirementsTarget markets, expected clients and volume in year one, account types, liquidity plans, front ends, CRM needs and any licence you hold or plan to obtain.
2. Short-list three providersPrefer providers that publish a company name, registration details and a working demo. Fewer than three gives you no comparison; more than five wastes time.
3. Send the same question listUse the twelve questions above and ask for written answers. Score them in the comparison table.
4. Test the platformOpen demo accounts, place market and pending orders, check charts and history on web and mobile, and run a test KYC and deposit flow if the provider allows it.
5. Verify the licence chainConfirm the licence holder’s company details and ask for the permitted-use confirmation in writing.
6. Negotiate the contractFix initial fees, cap later increases, define revenue share precisely and write the data export and exit terms in. Have a lawyer read it.

How do you plan your exit before you sign a grey label contract?

Plan the exit by writing into the contract what you get when you leave, how fast, and at what cost. If your business grows, the natural next step is a white label or your own MT5 licence, and a move like that is only clean if the exit was agreed at the start.

How does FXUP answer these questions?

We answer them in writing, as part of the proposal, before you sign anything. That includes the licence chain for your setup, the Manager rights your team will have, the server name your clients will see, the data export terms and the notice period. FXUP is a technology provider working on MetaTrader 5 infrastructure since 2023; we are not a broker and we are not affiliated with MetaQuotes.

Our grey label setups include a branded WebTrader (Flutter front end, Go back end connected to MT5 through the MetaTrader 5 Web API), branded iOS and Android apps publishable under your own developer accounts, and a CRM: our own broker CRM or a partner CRM, whichever fits your operation. When a client later wants its own MT5 licence, we also act as consultants, handling MetaQuotes’ requirements and the application for a fee. A typical setup goes live in about one to two weeks once documents, branding and liquidity are ready. You can test the WebTrader demo and the mobile app demo today, on a real MT5 demo environment.

If you are comparing providers now, send us your question list on WhatsApp and we will reply with written answers. If you already have another provider’s contract, ask us for a second opinion. For what drives the price, see the MT5 grey label cost guide, and ask us for current figures.

Questions buyers ask

Not covered here? Ask us on WhatsApp, message @FXUPCK on Telegram or write to [email protected].